Some Pressing Issues

Friday, March 13, 2015

There are combinations of factors that mean that mid May is a period of great importance to HMRC staff.

You need to mix in the Autumn Statement with the potential that was clearly spelt out therein for severe cuts in public expenditure, add in a little BoF (you can always add more BoF to your recipe here if you so wish and like to “live on the edge”), mix together with the uncertainty that seems to be in the electorate for the upcoming General Election and throw in finally (season to taste of course) a SPENDING REVIEW immediately after the election.

A heady mix indeed!

But with all seriousness - the Spending Review of 2015 will be one of the most important and vital issues HMRC will face in the coming years for all of us at HMRC.

With the Budget due next week there needs to be clear and precise focus on what HMRC can do better. How to free resources to operational areas , what areas of legislation make our jobs more difficult , what areas of bureaucracy impede us in doing our jobs more efficiently and productively and what we need to do more of and most importantly less of ( in terms of extraneous demands on work time and not the work itself ). The strategic design of the Department is a crucial factor in all of this and one, we know, of concern to many staff.

The RCTU is committed to tackling the issues and concerns of HMRC staff and focusing on the important areas that affect the daily working lives of HMRC staff and the overall efficacy of HMRC. The management of any “decline” in HMRC is not, and never will be, part of the RCTU agenda. There is much to be said (that has not been said in the past) and the RCTU will do just that. The RCTU will protect and promote HMRC and the hard working staff of HMRC.